When we turn to unhealthy or excessive food in order to feel better, it’s because something is missing. It may seem to be something outside—the right job, the right mate, the right body, the right memories—but the emptiness is core-deep. We crave a connection to our spiritual selves.

If you can get past the binge/diet cycle by some other means, terrific. I couldn’t. I’d stressed my resolve and my willpower until, like overworked peasants, they revolted. That insidious urge to smooth life’s rough edges with a nibble that could turn into a nightmare would overtake me just when I was convinced I had everything under control. My intelligence and good intentions were of no more use than lighting fixtures in a house with no wiring. I was desperate to tap into a Higher Power, one that would always be there.

It was such a strange notion. My problem seemed so physical. I ate quantities of physical food that showed quantitatively on my physical body, yet paradoxically the answer to my problem was spiritual. It didn’t make sense at first and it may not make sense to you until you realize that your physical self is only the tip of your totality. You’re a splendid being with complex emotions and intellect, and a spiritual essence that is uniquely ours, and yet it connects you to every living thing. It connects you to life itself.

In a binge, you have to cut off diplomatic relations between the body and the mind. Since it’s a rare person who consciously wants to be miserable, most people who binge separate their conscious (thinking) selves from their sensory (physical) selves by reading, surfing the web, driving, or watching TV while they eat. They absentmindedly grab snacks throughout the day or sneak tastes while cooking. Swearing off the distractions that remove you from the present moment may seem like the antidote, but it isn’t. If you have the need to binge, you will find a way to shut off your mind, with all its shoulds and oughts and know betters—and go for the food.

The need to binge is a spiritual hunger. It can only be assuaged with spiritual food. The soul lives on love the way a koala bear lives on eucalyptus leaves. Once you realize that this Love exists and that it’s available to you with no questions asked, you’ll be eager to put into practice the principles that you will learn in this book.

The Love-Powered Diet: Eating for Freedom, Health, and Joy. Lantern Books. $13.60.